In a development I neglected to note last Friday, embattled Belichick baiter Ron Borges — recently busted for plagiarism and a blatant conflict of interest in two incidents well covered at Bruce Allen’s Boston Sports Media — announced his “retirement” from the Boston Globe. BSM’s David Scott — who has been all over Borges like, well, the Hooded Casanova on a Jersey housewife — recognizes that something stinks on Morrissey Blvd.
There is no way this is entirely Borges decision as the wording of the statement would ask that you believe. “. . . to pursue new projects in sports journalism” sounds an awful lot like “don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Ronny.”
Add into the mix that Borges, as recently as last week, was clamming up on the plagiarism allegations because of a pending legal matter (a Totten-confirmed arbitration hearing) and the resulting picture is one of dubious moves and public missteps and the sad end to a Globe writing career that had several highlights despite recent lowlights and attention-grabs by Borges.
Now, the Globe looks silly because a plagiarist just quit on them; Borges looks silly because he’s now got to overcome both plagiarism accussations and the perception that he’s sleeping with the enemy (or at least canoodling with a subject he “covers”); and the rest of the Globe’s reading public (and working cohorts) look silly because we can’t be sure of what exactly is going on at the once-proud sports desk.